Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His father, a sea captain, died when he was four. One of his ancestors, John Hathorne, was a judge at the Salem witch trials, and Hawthorne added a "w" to the family name, possibly to put distance between himself and that history.

He studied at Bowdoin College in Maine, then spent about twelve years at home in Salem reading and writing short stories. He published them as Twice-Told Tales in 1837. To earn a living he worked at the Boston and Salem custom houses.

He lost his Salem custom house job in 1849 and wrote The Scarlet Letter (1850) soon after. It is set in Puritan Boston and follows Hester Prynne, who must wear a red letter A for adultery. The novel argues that hidden guilt does more damage than public shame. It sold well enough to let him write full time, and The House of the Seven Gables followed in 1851.

He later served as U.S. consul in Liverpool under his college friend President Franklin Pierce. He died in 1864, aged 59, while on a trip with Pierce in New Hampshire.